Granting Syrian President Bashar Assad asylum in Russian Federation would be much easier than sheltering US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden, President Vladimir Putin said in a recent interview, noting that it was premature to discuss this idea.
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“If this [voting] process is conducted democratically, then al-Assad will probably not need to leave the country at all”, Putin said in the exclusive interview, Interfax reports.
Russian Federation launched an air war in support of Assad’s government on September 30 a year ago.
“The alleged video evidence for this claim was developed before Russian forces even began their mission”, Putin said.
Referring to Obama’s description of Russian Federation as a “regional power”, Putin wondered what region exactly the United States president had in mind when he said so.
To the extent any of the fault for tensions in Europe can be laid at the feet of Russia, Putin said, it is because Moscow failed to push back hard enough against the West after the Berlin Wall fell.
“We now have, without exaggerating its potential, a greater possibility at achieving a political transition in Syria than we did just a few months ago and arguably at any time during this crisis”, Blinken said at FP’s Global Thinkers event in December.
“But the conflict would never have become so big if it had not been fuelled by outside of Syria – with weapons, money, and fighters”. “Look at Egypt: one has to praise President [Abdel Fatah al] Sisi for taking over the responsibility and power in an emergency situation, in order to stabilise the country”.
“I am talking about hundreds, thousands of armed people, who combat the Islamic State….”
“Once again, this is not supposed to mean that everything is fine in Syria or that Assad is doing everything right”, he added.
“From what we know and from my conversations with market participants, other countries are not bridging the gap”, the official said, although he added that China has offered some financing at higher rates and with shorter maturities.
He said Assad does not fight against his own population, regards to the al-Assad’s military bombing fellow Syrians.
“If our participation were needed, we would be ready to do everything for the conflict to be resolved, and as soon as possible”, he said, according to a transcript of the interview, sent to media by the Kremlin press office.
Russia’s harbouring of Snowden, accused of making public U.S. surveillance secrets, sparked a major confrontation with the USA in 2013.
Putin said that it was a humiliating move for Turkey to seek NATO’a protection after the incident with the Russian Su-24 jet.
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Putin also criticized North Atlantic Treaty Organisation nations for lacking the political will to deny membership to former Soviet Republics that met the alliance’s requirements and requested membership.
